Mira Sorvino's Real Name: Mira Sorvino

Quick answer: The actress is known professionally as Mira Sorvino. Britannica and Encyclopedia.com independently identify her under that name and agree that she is the daughter of actor Paul Sorvino and that she graduated from Harvard University in 1990. They disagree on the birth year and on the town, so those details are not treated as settled in the summary. A longer middle name listed by Encyclopedia.com is not independently confirmed here by a second independent publisher, so this page titles her under the public name.

Real name and early life

Independent publishers identify her under the professional name Mira Sorvino. Britannica dates the birth to September 28, 1967, in New York, New York, and says she grew up in New Jersey, the daughter of character actor Paul Sorvino, excelled at school, and graduated from Harvard University in 1990 with a major in East Asian area studies after a year in China, where she learned Mandarin. Encyclopedia.com independently lists the full name Mira Katherine Sorvino, dates the birth to September 28, 1968, in Tenafly, New Jersey, while noting that some sources cite 1964, 1967, or 1970, and identifies her parents as Paul Sorvino and Lorraine Davis. The same account records a Harvard B.A., magna cum laude, in Asian studies in 1990, and time as an exchange student in Beijing. This page records both the 1967 New York listing and the 1968 Tenafly listing.

Career highlights

Britannica says she worked on the independent film Amongst Friends (1993), appeared in Barcelona (1994) and Robert Redford's Quiz Show (1994), and then won the Academy Award for best supporting actress, as well as a Golden Globe Award, for Mighty Aphrodite (1995). Encyclopedia.com independently records an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award in 1996, both for best supporting actress, for Mighty Aphrodite, along with earlier National Board of Review and New York Film Critics Circle honors in 1995. Britannica later lists Beautiful Girls (1996), a television role as Marilyn Monroe in Norma Jean & Marilyn (1996), Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997), and Mimic (1997). Encyclopedia.com independently records Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for Norma Jean & Marilyn.

Name notes for searchers

People looking up Mira Sorvino are looking for the same actress. This page uses the public professional name.